Wanted Flixton man arrested in connection with series of robberies

A FLIXTON robber who was wanted on recall to prison has been arrested.

The arrested man, 27, was recalled in May 2014, but since then he was also wanted in connection with a series of vehicle thefts and robberies across Greater Manchester and Cheshire.

He was arrested last night after he was spotted returning to a stolen Audi A5 on Woodhouse Road, Davyhulme.

He was traced by officers from Operation Crossbow, which is run jointly by Cheshire Police and GMP in order to disrupt illegal activity between the two counties and deny criminals the use of the roads.

An officer was assaulted during the arrest.

The man was arrested on suspicion of two offences of robbery, three offences of theft of motor vehicles, attempted assault of a police officer, two offences of dangerous driving and on recall to prison.

He is currently in custody.

The arrest relate to a number of recent incidents including: • Theft of a car at Motor Mania, Chester Road, Stretford, on June 4 when a man entered the car dealership and while examining the vehicle, gets in and drives off.

• A robbery at Stratstones Car Dealership, Winsford, on June 5, where a man posed as a potential customer before stealing a car. During this offence, a showroom employee suffered a broken hip as the car was driven into him as the offender fled.

• A robbery at Olivant Street, Bury, on June 17, where the offender posed as a prospective purchaser, then dragged the victim from their vehicle and drove off.

• Two further thefts relating to high performance vehicles, from garage forecourts on June 25 and a serious road traffic collision in Northenden village at 3.25pm on June 25.

Sgt Andrew Torkington, of the Tactical Vehicle Intercept Unit, said: “We know that criminals don’t simply stop when they reach the border, and we also know that there is as strong link between illegal vehicles and other types of serious crime.

"We will not allow the safety of our roads to be compromised by criminals and those wanted by the force.

“This arrest once again demonstrates that we will stop at nothing to take violent criminals out of circulation, even when our officers are threatened and put at risk.”